Shelly Baker, Author at Industryus HR

Leadership – know the signs and causes of employee burnout

Posted on May 29, 2019

Fact.

67% of employees sometimes or often feel burnt out while at work. If knowledge is power, this is a helpful (yet confronting) piece of information for your leadership to consider.

Sufferers of burnout often describe feeling exhausted and disconnected. They often report feeling emotionally fatigued with a loss of empathy towards clients, and feeling incompetent and inept at work (The Black Dog Institute).

Burnout can be caused from a number of factors. A recent survey by BambooHR reveals there are currently three circumstances which contribute to employees feeling burnt out the most.

The first is unfair treatment in the workplace. Employees who report that they are often treated unfairly by their leadership at work are 2 times more likely to experience burnout. As inequitable workplaces are often unhealthy environments to spend time in, this poor culture typically results in underperformance.

The second factor is an unmanageable workload. Employees who don’t have enough working hours to complete their work in begin to burn out quickly. As the employee struggles to keep up, it often leads to damaged confidence and acts as a demotivator for higher performance.

Lastly, unclear roles can lead to burnout. Bamboo HR found that 40% of employees don’t know what is expected of them at work. There are a wide range of work situations which can create such role confusion. For example, often when an employee begins a new job there is a period of settling in. If the role responsibilities are not made clear at the start it can lead to greater confusion than necessary, a lengthier training period and/or turnover. Lack of role clarity can also lead to tension and conflict between team members. This particularly occurs where two team members are under the assumption that a particular responsibility is their own.

What can your leadership do to reduce burnout?

Leadership roles can take active steps to improve performance while preventing employee burnout. We all feel worn out at times but employees who feel supported by their managers are much less likely to regularly burnout compared to those who don’t feel supported by their managers. Therefore leading with a strong heart and fair hand is the key.

Similarly, employees who feel they often or always have enough time to do their work are much less likely to experience burnout. It’s important to point out that it’s not about setting the performance bar lower for your workplace to avoid burnout situations. It is about hitting a nice balance between performance goals and the ability to achieve them. Realistic timelines result in employees producing a much higher quality of performance.

Communicating with employees about performance expectations on a regular basis so that they understand and can own their performance results can result in higher performance and more satisfaction. In fact, employees who believe their performance metrics are within their own control are about half less likely to experience burnout.

In summary, leaders who offer fair and supportive workplaces with clear direction are more likely to create teams which are healthy in the longer term and engaged. Industryus HR offer practical leadership workshop sessions on a number of key topics, delivered classroom style. For more information about our practical workshops click here, or call 07 5655 4047.

Reference checking for your recruitment campaign: is it a waste of time?

Posted on November 20, 2018

Is reference checking for your recruitment campaign a waste of time?

I have recently had a number of clients ask this question in regard to recruitment campaign management for new talent. It’s usually followed by a statement such as “surely candidates are always going to provide a referee who will only say good things about them”.

Seems logical I guess. It’s true that candidates are unlikely to provide a referee that they think will say horrible things about them… but it’s a little bit more complex than that. Having been responsible throughout my human resources career for providing recruitment services across many roles and industries, my opinion on this topic has been developed by real life experience. Let me tell you, I always reference check, thoroughly.

In this blog post I will address the notion that candidates will always provide referees who will only say good things about them. I’ll also provide you with some tips on how to get the most out of reference checking.

In my experience there are two main reasons why candidates don’t always provide referees who will only say good things about them. Firstly, many candidates may have a misguided view of what their leader thought about their performance. Sometimes this may be a result of the candidate’s performance results not being properly communicated to them. Other times it may be because they simply lack self-awareness or refuse to accept their own development areas. Therefore, in many instances a candidate may genuinely be expecting their referee to provide an A+ reference because they feel they have been an A+ performer. The reality is though that most referees are willing to talk frankly or at the very least provide some cues as to the candidate’s true performance. Secondly, I find that the majority of management level referees are professionals who value honesty and integrity over doing a favour for someone during a reference check. This is particularly true for those that had a true manager to employee reporting relationship with the candidate. Hence, a valid referee is likely to take the reference check seriously and reveal valuable insights into the person’s previous performance and conduct.

Here are some questions to ask yourself during the reference check stage of your next recruitment drive:

Recruitment Campaign Question 1: Who are the referees?

Previous performance is likely to give you a view of future performance. To check someone’s previous performance it is important to speak with the person who was completely across it. That is, the candidate’s current or former manager or in some cases the next level up manager. Colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders may not have been aware of any performance gaps the manager experienced with their employee. Remember, you plan to be the candidate’s manager too, so a manager’s view is most relevant.

Where the candidate has not listed any current or former managers, it’s ok to politely question why this is and request them to produce different referees. Recruitment screening is essentially a step by step process to reduce the risk of hiring someone unsuitable. Therefore, where a candidate is unwilling or cannot provide the correct type of referee, the risk of you regretting a hiring decision increases.

Clients and stakeholders may be able to provide some valuable insights into attributes such as customer service, responsiveness and rapport but these types of referees are best used to complement the references of former reporting managers.

Recruitment Campaign Question 2: How did the referee behave over the phone?

All reference checks should involve a number of specific questions about the candidate’s previous role, skillset, performance and behaviours. Seasoned recruitment services professionals listen to the cues in the referee’s answers (whether they were meant to be heard or not!) and probe anything that might give specific insights into a candidate’s real performance. Be cautious of reference checks where the referee:

starts to answer and then hesitates, as if they are retracting something they were going to say;
takes long pauses before answering, as if they are being overly careful with their words;
only makes positive high-level comments about the candidate but doesn’t provide any detail or real-life examples;
seems to use non-language responses such as deep sighing or “hmmm” when they are thinking as opposed to readily providing positive feedback. Or they use non-committal language such as “I guess so” or “she’s pretty good” when you ask them a question about a specific aspect of performance.

If you receive any negative vibes about certain topics, explore them further until you are satisfied that you understand the pain points.

Recruitment Campaign Question 3: How consistent are the responses across all referees?

If you check 2-3 references and they all have a slightly different slant on how the candidate performed, there may be a problem. The best talent will have their leaders singing to the same tune about them creating a solid consistency amongst the references.

Standout themes will also appear in relation to 2-3 specific skillsets. For example, one referee may briefly mention how the candidate was a key office ‘go to’ person due to their in depth understanding of Excel. Another referee may provide an example of a project they participated in where their Excel prowess contributed to the success of the project. We all have our strongpoints and a referee should be aware of these, and naturally lean towards the ones that are most dominant. Quite simply, if all referees are confirming the same specifics, then what they are saying is more likely to be true.

Is checking references a waste of time? I think not. When they are done well they can be a valuable addition to the other screening steps of the talent acquisition process. Just like you shouldn’t hire someone purely from glancing at their resume, you also shouldn’t hire someone purely based on their references. Therefore, we recommend in order to get the best results, always take the time and effort to conduct a thorough screening process. If you require assistance with your next hire, contact an expert recruitment services provider such as Industryus HR.

Shelly Baker is the founder of Industryus HR, a HR consulting firm which works with SMEs throughout Australia to improve employee productivity and performance through strategic human resources and recruitment services. Shelly has worked in a number of senior HR roles, including having recruited from entry level to executive level roles across various industries in the private sector. If you would like to explore other options than a recruitment agency, make an enquiry today about Industryus HR’s recruitment services by calling 07 5655 4047 or sending us a message here.

Redundancy entitlements

Posted on October 1, 2018

Q: I no longer need one of my team members. What do I have to pay in the case of a redundancy?

A: Information relating to employer redundancy obligations starts at Section 117 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

Basically, employers must provide an employee whose position is being made redundant notice of the termination along with a redundancy payment.

Notice of termination is outlined in the table in Section 117 (3) (a) of the Act and ranges from one week to four weeks dependent on the employee’s length of continuous service. Remember to add an additional one week for any employee who is over 45 years of age and who has been employed continuously for at least two years at the time the notice is given.

The minimum redundancy payment is outlined in Section 119 (2) of the Act and ranges from zero weeks to 16 weeks dependent on the employee’s length of continuous service and the size of the organisation.

Note, if your employees are covered by an industrial instrument other than the Fair Work Act 2009, such as an Enterprise Agreement, you will need to refer to that document for correct entitlements. Also, where the individual’s employment agreement states an entitlement over the minimum standard, you will need to ensure they receive the higher amount.

Redundancy processes can be very complex and if executed poorly (or unlawfully), they can have negative consequences. Industryus HR strongly advises employers seek external advice from a HR professional prior to carrying out redundancies. Call us on 07 5655 4047 or click here if you require assistance.

Dismissal – don’t make a costly mistake

Posted on September 5, 2018

My staff member has raised a number of questions about his work conditions. It’s quite annoying and taking up too much of my time. Can I consider a dismissal or will it prove be a very costly?

A recent case from the Fair Work Ombudsman highlights the risk of dismissal of an employee under these circumstances.

In this case, a Gold Coast security company owner was penalised $115,668 by the Fair Work Ombudsman after he admitted taking unlawful adverse action against a guard by dismissing him.

It was found that the owner dismissed the employee after this employee had queried their own work roster.

The Fair Work Act 2009 makes it unlawful to take adverse action against an employee for making a complaint or enquiry in relation to their employment.

Therefore, this case is a strong reminder that adverse action penalties are uncapped and employers that do the wrong thing can expect hefty fines.

Employers who would like the peace of mind of having access to a HR specialist to better understand their workplace obligations, may wish to sign up to the Industryus HR on call advice service. Pay by the month, cancel anytime options are available. Call us on 07 5655 4047 or click here for more info.

The new Family and Domestic Violence Leave

Posted on August 5, 2018

Recently the Fair Work Commission officially announced a new leave type for many Australian employees titled Family and Domestic Violence Leave. While it may have been news to some, those in Industrial Relations and/or Human Resources circles have been discussing the concept of for a number of years now. In particular, I recall from my enterprise bargaining days that unions had been pushing for it for some time. In my view, any leave that allows an employee to deal with the impacts of domestic violence can only be a good thing, and personally I applaud the decision to make this its own leave type.

From the employer’s perspective, there are some important points to be aware of in order for you to appropriately manage this new leave. So let’s learn more about Family and Domestic Violence Leave.

What you need to know about Domestic Violence Leave

This new leave type applies to all employees covered under an industry or occupation award. Many SMEs hire award covered staff, so make sure if your business does, it prepares for this leave type if it hasn’t already.

The new leave allows employees to take leave from work if they need to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence and its impractical to do so outside their ordinary hours of work.

Employees can take up to 5 days each year as unpaid leave.

The 5 days can be taken as one day or as multiple days, or if mutually agreed it can be taken in part days.

If unused, it does not roll over to the next year, as in the case of other types of leave such as personal leave.

Employers can ask employees for evidence that reasonably satisfies them that the employee had to take the leave to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence.

What you need to do

All employers of staff covered by a modern award should have updated their workplace policies by now to include Family and Domestic Violence Leave. These changes should have also be appropriately communicated to all staff.

If you haven’t yet updated your policies and wish to outsource this task to Industryus HR so that you can be compliant, contact us on 1300 15 10 11 or send us a message here and we will come back to you to discuss.

Written by Shelly Baker, Director of Industryus HR